morning all, took sam for his first gun-dog training class on sunday and i was really impressed with him. after his initial head all over the place he settled down very well. first off we did some heel work and sitting to the whistle (which i've been practising with him), which he did. then we did some retrieve work. now this isnt his strongest thing and we had to find something to get his interest and attention. anyway the trainer had a dummer wrapped in pheasant feathers. that sure got sam's attention!!! he loved it, retrieved it no probs! by the way he was on the long line during this. anyway the trainer thought he was doing so well he took the line off. my face must have dropped!!! anyway i threw it out and sam wanted until i sent him out to get it and he brought it back. wasnt a perfect retrieve and present but boy he did it good enough for me! the trainer was really impressed with him cos last week he wasnt sure if sam would be too old for gun-dog training, so hopefully he's changed his mind now! the only thing that put me off was a couple of the other people there and their treatment of their dogs as in grabbing them by the scruff of their necks and pulling them all over . i think people like that give gun-dog training a bad name.
Ahh, brilliant Springergirl - certainly sounds like Sam is going to love this training. As for the others who are rougher on their dogs - as long as your trainer doesn't try forcing you to do so, I wouldn't let this put you off. In my obedience classes there are one or two the same - much rougher with their dogs than I would be, but nowhere near the stage of being cruel. Although I don't really approve, I have to say that the dogs clearly adore their owners and their method does seem to work for them. So as long as they don't try to impose it on me, I just let them get on with. When's your next session?
Congratulations on Sam's success. I have to say it put me off too seeing how roughly gundogs were treated when I went out on the shoot. Seemed totally unnecessary and one poor dog had the dreaded e-word on :-( Becky
Well done with Sam - sounds like you had a good session. Sadly some gundog owners still think that the way to train is like you describe they don't see the reward training method at all!
thanks everyone i was really pleased with him!!! just hope the other peoples treatment of their dogs doesnt put me off going. i just hope i can keep my gob shut!!! like you said rachelsetters unfortunately some gun-dog trainers/owners are of the 'old school' and can only train with punishment instead of positive methods. one of the other guys there must have seen my face as one of the owners scruffed his dog and said its alright it doesnt hurt, better that than beat them up like some owners do!!! i really, really hope it doesn't put me off going though cos i think sam could really benefit from it and the trainer we had was lovely!!
Well done sound exciting. I would love to do some sort of training like that with Dori but dont know if my confidence would let me down
my friend wnt to a gundog water day training, and she can back very sad. she said one person twisted the dogs ears and another pulled it up by the choke chain. she just kept her dog well out of the way. i would love to do some gundog work with tia but i dont think i will ever go to a gundog trainer put me off too much. i think i would like to do the clicker gundog training ay LAD's
hi hollie01, soz to hear about your friends disappointing training day. unfortunately that is how some gun dog owners and trainers treat their dogs. if any of them try that with my sam i'll kick them in their b*******! i've got helen philips clicker gun-dog which is brilliant. i would love to go to wagmore barn for a gundog weekend. might see ya there one day!
Well done to you and Sam sounds like you enjoyed yourself.As for the others I would of been shocked too at the treatment and it would of shown on my face also. Hopefully it won't put you off because it sounds like Sam really enjoyed it.
hi lynn, i'm hoping it doesn't put me off too cos i feel that it will really help with sam. as i said earlier the trainer i had was really nice and didnt show any disrespect to his dog. i'm not very good at hiding how i feel so i just hope i can contain myself.
yes well you never know. once i have got the money together i would love to do a few of there courses! i think there are some gundog trainers now coming round on the idea of clickers but not many im affraid:-(
i'm lucky i have to admit cos one of my trainers up here was trained by kay laurence. she also does some workshops down at wagmore too. so i have a really, really good teacher up here. although its the gun dog stuff i'd like to do at wagmore
Hi katrina342, sam is approx 4 years old. he's a rescue so i dont have his papers, but he's definately working stock. i just wanted to find something that will get his attention when we're out walking, as he has a tendancy to run off (and by that i mean he's gone for hours!!). so hopefully this gun dog stuff will help me and him. the trainer was a bit wary of taking sam on cos of his age but he's proved you can teach and old dog new tricks!!
